Yeah, anything processed and prepackaged usually has a ton of sodium... if it's easy and you nuke it, it's probably loaded with sodium. ;) The best way to avoid it is make your own food. I average about 3600 mg a day myself. It's the only nutrient I really worry about other than protein (to make sure I get enough) because I just plain eat too much. If you eat fast food, or prepackaged anything... bam, sodium. It's crazy!

SMERRIMAN7
Posts:
296
5/23/12 9:40 A

Unfortunately when they make 'reduced fat' or 'fat free' options, the flavor gets enhanced by other means. Sodium is often high but checking labels can help. Some will be less than others.

For your salad dressing example - do you really need 2 tbsp? I have found that I don't. I usually go for about 1 tbsp and its sufficient.

I, too, had heard/read somewhere that drinking a decent amount of water would help flush out extra sodium consumed each day. I don't track sodium, have good reports on heart health/blood pressure/cholesterol/etc. I'm a little afraid to go back and see what my sodium #s are!

Again sodium is not something I monitor. Fats and carbs and calories yes. I added up all of the mg of sodium I would be consuming tomorrow and it came up to a shocking 3600 mg. Reduced fat salad dressing ranch 460 for two tbsp?!?! I'll have to think of something. I don't want to keep consuming all of this sodium. Lean pockets and veg burgers had quite a bit of sodium too and I eat those often because of the lower calories

RUSSELL-- The different numbers may be related to one fitting the "healthy adult" category, vs already showing signs of heart disease or other risk factors. And of course with greater research comes new recommendations.

For now it is 2300 milligrams for healthy adults. For adults already with heart or kidney disease, diabetes, 51 years of age or older,or African American, the minimum drops to 1500 milligrams.

Dietitian Becky

SCTK519
Posts:
2,085
5/22/12 5:46 P

Too much sodium is a bad thing regardless of how much water you drink. My cousin is 30 years old and is on the kidney transplant list from too much sodium. Now she can't have any. Too much sodium is Unhealthy.

I remember it being 2000 mg a day. Why did it jump to 2300? A more attainable goal?

To the OP.. read labels. You can probably cut out a lot of sodium whithout even changing foods. Chicken for example can be as low as 40 mg per 4 oz serving, or as high as 340. Mine is 70 for b/s chicken thighs. The problem is that salt is a preservative, so chicken is soaked in a 15% salt solution. A little work on your part can save you 250-300 mg sodium. Cutting out flavored drinks will save you a lot of sodium, and calories as well.

Your urine is proabably not as clear in the moring, because you have not consumed water since the night before and therefore your urine is slightly more concentrated. But this is not a concern for your first morning urine.

Some medications and supplements can change urine color.

Heavy labor or workouts in hot, humid conditions can darken urine color. Once again, your urine is more concentrated with less fluid consumed.

No high sodium diet is good. Sodium acts as a magnet of fluid, as sodium inside our bloodstream soaks up water and causes fluid retention. When sodium attracts water, you are unable to excrete water together with the body's waste products, this will accumulate in the kidneys and maybe cause kidney stones which are very painful. Sodium makes your heart work harder. The kidneys are responsible for eliminating salt from the body.

To answer your question....The total sodium that you consume has an effect on your body. You canít simply dilute it or flush it out with water.

Salt cause high blood pressure, artery disease, increases risk or a heart attack and stroke no matter what your age and cravings.

There is already lots of sodium in the American Foods. Put away the salt shakes and eat low sodium.

Ok so I had it all wrong. I was just wondering. I don't monitor my sodium. I think I intake a lot of sodium. Why shouldn't urine be clear? Sometimes I notice mine is clear but it's not all of the time.

Neither. Your body isn't a toilet, and it can't be flushed. You do need water, but it won't flush anything from your body that isn't eliminated normally through regular waste processes. Drinking water won't add "water weight" in that it will make you retain water; it will behave like it normally does when you drink water. Your body will use what it needs, and eliminate the rest. You don't want to drink so much your urine is clear... it should be a pale, straw color.

I have been wondering if someone has a high sodium diet but they drink tons of water a day, does the water help to flush out the sodium that the body doesn't use or does the water just add water weight because of the high sodium intake?

SparkPeople, SparkCoach, SparkPages, SparkPoints, SparkDiet, SparkAmerica, SparkRecipes, DailySpark, and other marks are trademarks of SparkPeople, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this website can be used without the permission of SparkPeople or its authorized affiliates.
SPARKPEOPLE is a registered trademark of SparkPeople, Inc. in the United States, European Union, Canada, and Australia. All rights reserved.

NOTE: Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy last updated on October 25, 2013